Sunday, February 26, 2017

Came
across this article about Zelda Wynn
Valdes, and I was in awe of this woman and how come I didn’t learn about
this sooner. Yes, you may not have heard of her, but you’ve certainly seen her
designs. Zelda Wynn Valdes is credited with creating the original Playboy bunny
costume. The work of the trailblazing fashion designer/entrepreneur
highlighted the coveted hour-glass figure in the 1940s and 1950s. The rest of
the info of this post was from the blog article I read by @lagonegirl.

Valdes
was the first black designer to open up her own shop on Broadway in 1948. She
created gorgeous gowns many stars like Mae West, Joyce Bryant, Josephine Baker,
Gladys Knight, Sarah Vaughan, Dorothy Dandrige, Ella Fitzegerald and countless
others.

Later
in her career, she created costumes for the Dance Theater of Harlem. Valdes also
notably helped found the National
Association of Fashion and Accessory Designs. She died in 2001 at age 96,
but her legacy lives on.

xx Do the things you are passionate about; Learn from ones who inspire you; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx

Friday, February 10, 2017

In Conversation With The Naked Magicians: Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne

The Aussie Duo Are Set To Perform In April In Calgary

(photo: associated press)

The Aussie
besties Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne or together better
known as The Naked Magicians
will be going to Calgary for the second time this spring to perform. “When we
did the cross-Canada tour, Calgary was one of the best shows we’ve had, so we decided
to come back to do it again.” said the boys.

The
duo amped up the excitement of a traditional magic show with something lets
just say, more sex appeal and less conventional. Prior to the naked status,
Tyler and Wayne were already performing magic tricks, but they wanted to do
something different and something that stands out to the audience. “Magician is
like the second oldest profession in history, we couldn’t believe no one has done it nude." said Tyler and Wayne. “We spent more than a year putting a show
together, coming up with ways to do (magic tricks) without pockets and
sleeves.”

When they finally launched their first performance, live on stage, it was an “all in”
gamble for the boys, both financially and their reputation. As it turns out,
taking the risk is the right choice – from performing to a group of audience of
200, to now 500-1000 per show. The Naked
Magicians has proven to be a success and well-received entertainment
worldwide. “We haven’t look back since” said Wayne. “To date, we have done over
400 shows.”

I
asked them have they been in a situation where a fan might’ve gotten
‘too close’ when things got heated. Tyler said so far of that 400
performances, there has only been one incident where a fan just had “a lil too
much to drink.”

The
Naked Magicians are seen on a number of TV programs and media highlights
lately.The Sunday Herald even declares
them as “definitely one of the most visually stimulating magic shows in the
world”. “The show is obviously getting a lot of attention,” I said. “Ever plan
on adding a third wheel? Perhaps a magic assistant?” The answer is “no”. The long-time
best buddies are feeling good right now working with each other. They explain
that there still isn’t that many well known magician duos in the industry.

So
what is our Calgary audience expecting to see on April 20th at the Jubilee
Auditorium? I guess they’ll have to purchase their tickets to find out. The
Naked Magicians will promise two things – be naked and perform unbelievable
magic. They left me with their famous quote: “Good magicians don’t need
sleeves; Great magicians don’t wear pants.”

Watch:

xx Do the things you are passionate about; Learn from ones who inspire you; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx

Thursday, February 9, 2017

At
the final night of THE COLLECTIONSRE\SET
fashion presentation (you can read about the opening night here) at The Great
Hall in Toronto, collections by Canadian designers Hilary MacMillan, Beaufille,
Thomas Balint and WRKDEPT were showcased.

For its first runway show of the evening, contemporary
cruelty-free womenswear brand, Hilary MacMillan presented modern wearable
designs from her FW17 collection. Forbes annual 30 Under 30 inductees, Chloe
and Parris Gordon, the duo behind Beaufille wowed in the Conversation Room with
top looks from the SS17 collection, showcasing exaggerated hems, feminine lines
and opposing textures. Back downstairs in the Longboat Room, menswear line
Thomas Balint’s moving presentation of his FW17 collection told a story of classicism
and romance, contrasted by a dystopia atomosphere and set to the backdrop of
Leonard Cohen. WRKDEPT closed out the night with its ready-to-wear unisex FW17
presentation that boasted bold colours, hand crafted accessories and
avant-garde pieces.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

On
February 6th at the recently restored historic Toronto venue, The Great Hall, THE COLLECTIONS presented night one of RE\SET, featuring some of
Canada’s top fashion designers. The showcase was revealed in an innovative
format in an effort to reset the thinking around how fashion is presented.

Designers
including Sid Neigum, Markoo, Klaxon Howl and Pedram
Karimi, all presented their selected looks from current and recent
collections.

Sid
Neigum showcased eight monochromatic looks in black, white and red from his
spring/summer ’17 collection. Toronto-based duo, Markoo put on an impressive
show in the Conversation Room showing a stunning collection that focused on
pants, outerwear and textured pieces. Klaxon Howl’s men’s wear could be seen
downstairs, where the static presentation is projected an air of strength and
masculinity of 1960’s Frenchmen mixed South American rebel. Signature
avant-garde brand, Pedram Karimi closed off the night with a show accompanied
by eccentric musical performance by Montreal-baed singer Apigeon who, while
singing, undressed and redressed in various designs on stage, helped by two
male models that tended to her every need.

Collection by Sid Neigum

Collection by Klaxon Howl

Collection by Pedram Karimi

The
beautiful looks on the runway were from beautyBOUTIQUE
by Shoppers Drug Mart in partnership with award-winning makeup artist Simone Otis, hair artist Kirsten Klontz
and nail expert Melissa Forrest.

Monday, February 6, 2017

The official nominees for the 4th
annual Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) were revealed last week at
the Thompson Landry Gallery in Toronto. Voted on by an esteemed committee of
leading professionals across a range of disciplines, such as design, media and
innovation within the fashion industry, the 2017 CAFA nominees once again
showcased the incredible talents we have in the fashion community and across
the country. Canadian actress Karine
Vanasse was invited to make the official announcement. Huge congratulations
to all of the Canadian talents, including some of our friends who were among on
the list.

“Canada is having a significant
fashion moment – our talented designers and our growing retail landscape is
making an impact on the industry,” says Suzanne Rogers, CAFA jury member and
Canadian fashion supporter. “I am very proud to support CAFA and all of their
efforts to ensure that our established and emerging talent receive the
well-deserved recognition both nationally and internationally.”

The evening also unveiled that
Montreal-based Rami Atallah,
Co-founder and CEO of acclaimed fashion platform SSENSE, has been appointed the 2017 CAFA Honorary Chair. “Rami has
always been on the frontier of innovation and change, artfully intersecting the
worlds of fashion, business and technology,” says Vicky Milner, President of CAFA. “He has created a culture that is
evolving how we interact with, relate to and consume fashion today. SSENSE is
truly a shining example of a global Canadian success story.”

The Founder and Editor-in-Chief
of The Business Of Fashion (BoF), Imran Amed, will be honored with this
year’s Hudson’s Bay Vanguard Award. “Hudson’s Bay is delighted to honor Imran
Amed with the CAFA Vanguard Award,” said Liz
Rodbell, President of Hudson’s Bay. “With BoF, Imran has created one of
today’s most esteemed and respected sources for of-the-moment news and in-depth
looks at the global fashion landscape. He is a visionary, a thought-leader and
is incredibly deserving this prestigious award.”

Like previous years, the 2017
CAFA jury, comprised of national and international fashion leaders, will select
the winner of each category. The winners will be announced at the red carpet
gala, taking place on April 7th 2017 at the Fairmont Royal York in
Toronto.

Here are the official CAFA 2017
nominees:

The Womenswear Designer of the Year Award

Beaufille

Lucian Matis

Sid Neigum

Smythe

The Menswear Designer of the Year Award

Bustle

Christopher Bates

Feral

The Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent, Fashion

House of Nonie

Malorie Urbanovitch

Maram

Matthew Gallagher

The Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent, Accessories

Daniel Christian Tang

Garema

Jon De Porter

Poppy Barley

The Accessory Designer of the Year Award

Dean Davidson

Jenny Bird

Sully Wong

The Joe Fresh Fashion Innovation Award

Salesfloor

Dash Hudson

OMsignal

Simons Fashion Design Student Award

Adrian Zhao

Alex Armata

Curtis Oland

Xiaoyi Li

The Image Maker of the Year Award

Caitlin Cronenberg

Max Abadian

Owen Bruce

The International Candian Designer of the Year Award

Erdem

Tanya Taylor

Vejas Kruszewski

The Stylist of the Year Award

Cary Tauben

Elizabeth Cabral

Juliana Schiavinatto

The Model of the Year Award

Crista Cober

Meghan Collison

Pamela Bernier

Paolo Roldan

The Sephora Fresh Face of the year Award

Ariel Himbeault

Elizabeth Davison

Emm Arruda

Sophie Touchet

The Fashion Impact Award

Christopher Paunil

David Dixon

Far and Wide Collective

Wear Your Label

The Digital Fashion Influencer of the Year Award

Alexander Liang

Ania Boniecka for Ania B

Caillianne and Samantha Beckerman
for Beckerman Blog

Leading up to the CAFA gala,
there will be The Kit Connect Conference and The CAFA Fashion & Retail
Forum, both events are set to connect industry professionals, sharing ideas and
making connections with one another as a collaborative effort to further
enhance the future of the Canadian fashion industry.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again in Toronto.

xx Do the things you are passionate about; Learn from ones who inspire you; Strive to become an expert at what you do xx